This invention relates to toy vehicles and, in particular, to toy vehicles which can be manually programmed by the user.
Briefly stated, the present invention is directed to a programmable toy vehicle configured for itinerant maneuvers. The vehicle includes a motive chassis with at least one maneuver motor. A microprocessor on the motive chassis is operably coupled with the motor and configured to control itinerant maneuvers of the vehicle at least in part through the motor. A mechanical touch screen assembly on the motive chassis is operably coupled with the microprocessor and configured to input to the microprocessor a path of itinerant movement of the vehicle manually drawn on an exposed surface of the touch screen assembly. The microprocessor reads the manually drawn path and controls movement of the motive chassis to follow the manually drawn path.
The present invention is also directed to a method of programming a toy vehicle including a motive chassis with at least one maneuver motor, a microprocessor on the motive chassis operably coupled with the motor and configured to control itinerant maneuvers of the vehicle at least in part through the motor, and a mechanical touch screen assembly on the motive chassis operably coupled with the microprocessor. The method includes the step of manually applying pressure to an exposed surface of the touch screen assembly while moving along the exposed surface so as to manually draw on the exposed surface a path of itinerant movement of the vehicle. The method further includes the step of activating the microprocessor to read the manually drawn path and control movement of the motive chassis to follow the manually drawn path.